SBI's 2014 World Cup Best XI

The 2014 World Cup might now be a thing of the past, but there were more than enough strong showings throughout the tournament to keep fans talking for a while.

From Manuel Neuer’s impressive performances in goal for Germany to Arjen Robben’s electric outings for the Netherlands to James Rodriguez’s attention-grabbing games for Colombia, the recently-concluded World Cup had no shortage of stellar play from individuals looking to make an impact on soccer’s grandest stage. Quality was on full display from the start of the competition until the end, and but only a few did so on a real consistent basis.

SBI has narrowed down the 33 best players from the 2014 World Cup and split them up into three Best XIs. The first team is led by the aforementioned trio, but each of the three squads selected boasts plenty of talent that shone in Brazil this summer.

Here are SBI’s 2014 World Cup Best XI first, second and third teams:

SBI World Cup Best XI

FIRST TEAM

Manuel Neuer

Phillip Lahm, Mats Hummels, Ron Vlaar, Daley Blind

James Rodriguez, Javier Mascherano, Bastian Schweinsteiger

Lionel Messi, Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben

SECOND TEAM

Keylor Navas

Ezequiel Garay, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Thiago Silva, Jerome Boateng

Toni Kroos, Wesley Sneijder, Oscar

Neymar, Robin Van Persie, Karim Benzema

THIRD TEAM

Tim Howard

Pablo Zabaleta, Gary Medel, Mario Yepes, Ricardo Rodriguez

Paul Pogba, Jermaine Jones, Sami Khedira

Alexis Sanchez, Andre Schurrle, Juan Cuadrado

Some thoughts on first-team player selections:

NEUER – Was a monster from start to finish, making superb stops, coming off his line well and playing with a fearlessness that helped pave the way for Germany’s fourth World Cup title.

LAHM – Started the tournament in midfield but also spent time in defense. He was one of the Germans who was most consistent throughout the tournament and that’s saying a lot given the steady performances that many of his compatriots delivered.

HUMMELS – The top defender on Germany’s stingy back line, Hummels was arguably the best centerback in the whole tournament. He did not struggle too much despite facing some talented strikers, and was very solid in the final.

VLAAR – Anchored the Dutch’s back line, playing a big part in their defensive toughness throughout the tournament. His overall game was very strong.

BLIND – The left back of the tournament enjoyed a good few games in Brazil. His defending opened the eyes of many who were unfamiliar with him and he got a just reward with his well-taken goal in the third-place game against Brazil.

RODRIGUEZ – It was already known that Rodriguez had talent, but how he played in his first tournament on the world’s stage was impressive nonetheless. He scored a goal that deserves consideration for the tournament’s best, and was a huge reason why Colombia made history by reaching the quarterfinals. He also finished the tournament as the leading scorer with six goals despite playing in just five games.

MASCHERANO – Torn anus and all, Mascherano never let up. He was one of the primary reasons why Argentina looked so strong defensively in the competition, and why it made it to the final for the first time in a long time.

SCHWEINSTEIGER – Most will remember the beating he took in the final, but the veteran midfielder was splendid throughout. He broke up plays, fought hard for 50-50 balls, and connected some good passes to help Germany’s well-oiled machine perform at its best.

MESSI – He was arguably the best player in the Group Stage thanks in part to all the timely goals he scored, but did not have the same kind of impact in the knockout rounds that saw him go scoreless. He is still one of the world’s very best, but he would have not made this best XI had another forward stepped up and been a little bit better over a longer period.

MULLER – As much as the goal against the U.S. Men’s National Team might hurt American fans, it depicted his outstanding tournament perfectly. Muller was the Germans’ go-to goal-scorer in Brazil and found ways to make an impact even when he wasn’t finding the back of the net.

ROBBEN – His art of flopping is second to none, but he was regardless one of the World Cup’s best. Seemingly every time he touched the ball it looked as if the Netherlands could score, and his mazy dribbling runs were among the more memorable things from the tournament in Brazil.

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What do you think of SBI’s 2014 World Cup Best XI? Agree with the selection of players on the first team? Is there someone who isn’t on here that you feel should be?

I agree that he did a fine job for his team, which was not set up really to maximize his ability (how many teams are?). Not sure how he could’ve done all that much better (there are a few things, but he did well)

But I can’t stand the “chances created” metric. Wildly subjective. Rewards mediocre buildup play and half-opportunities (i.e. the ones we typically give Mexico by the dozens… would love to see the “chances created” from the most recent 2-0 in Columbus. Not one scared me in the least.). Pet peeve I guess. Just wonder why these people can’t keep better tabs on more objective things (try looking up detailed historical stats on penalties saved/missed etc… shouldn’t this be easier?)

Kroos had a poor final. I will agree that he had a better overall tourney than Schweiny, who sat the bench for a while during the Lahm midfield experiment, but Bastian was quite good in the final (despite all his time rolling around on the pitch).

wouldn’t say it was poor but that’s cool, we disagree there. Schweinsteiger had a great final, definitely, but still thought Kroos was the best German in Brazil with Mueller, saying quite a bit that is I know

Big miss, but that would not have prevented a Germany victory. With Neymar and Silva, Germany still would have won. I think it would not have been 7 -1 (really should have been 9 -1 because Germany missed two clear chances). I think Germany still would won 3/4 – 1. Brazil is just an emotionally weak team. They need more steel/resilience.

Manuel Neuer was great and was definitely entertaining to watch for a goalkeeper. However, for whatever reason, I get the feeling he potentially has an epic blunder in him that will cost Germany a trophy somewhere down the line.

There is a major possibility that this theoretical blunder never comes, but he takes a fair number of risks, so the chances are there. Plus, most extremely serious fan bases don’t allow past success to prevent them from getting angry over failure in the present. I’m from the South and have to hear the constant whining of Alabama fans whenever they don’t win a National Championship in college football, despite all of their accomplishments, both recent and in the more distant past.

Am I the only person who thinks that Navas and arguably Howard had a better tournament than Neuer, if not only because they both had more to do? Don’t get me wrong, Neuer was great, but I don’t feel like Neuer kept his team in games the way Navas and Howard did.

I actually thought Howard was pretty overrated by many. He had one outstanding game against Belgium, but I put a portion of the blame for Portugal’s equalizing goal on him. Watch it again and see that he had nobody in front of him to guard against, only the one man on the back post who put the ball in the net. He should have come out for that cross, as he didn’t need to worry about someone cutting in front of him.

I would have had Fabian Johnson in the third team and bumped one of the extra CBs listed. And even as a big Jermaine Jones fan I would have Di Maria over him. Jones seemed to wear out as the tournament wore on.

1st team…totally eurosnob…Vlaar is better for a Robocop starring role. put Medel there. Mascherano is an Argentinean invention, the guy is all effort but face it, he can’t play the ball. put Vidal even if he’s injured he can fly circles around Masche. Messi doesn’t deserve first team honours , do you work for Blatter? rest of the team is eurosnob I can think of so many others but right now gotta go.

oh and Junior Diaz from Costa Rica at LB rather than Daley Blind..Medel has to be there for Vlaar because he’s is better on the ball and will tackle with his head if necessary and play with groin injury…did you know he’s was given a hero medal from the army? first soccer player to get it? Vlaar ?? seriously? I’m the biggest Messi fan but cmon he’s a real dissapointment and his body language and “pecho frio” attitude got me real fed up. he was “good” (for his standard) only in the first phase

Chile homer? Masherano was a rock and he distributed very well out of the back. He’s the main reason Arg kept a clean sheet through the knockout round. No disrespect to Vidal, but Javi had a WAY better tournament.

I seem to be the only person who thinks this, but I think Hummels has been a little overrated. He’s a very solid centerback, no doubt, but his lack of pace would hurt Germany more if they didn’t have Neuer behind him.

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